Stipula Etruria Wild Honey

My fountain pen journey has taken me to the strangest of places! I have always hated yellows and browns yet here I am with the Stipula Etruria Wild Honey which is both of those things and I am finding it beautiful.

An utterly beautiful pen 😍

The resin is semi translucent and looks not inlike tortoiseshell –shades of brown and gold and yellow with flecks of metallic gold here and there. THe translucency is judged just right – it is translucent enouguh to give you the impression that y ou see right through but opaque enough to hide the converter and ink. It results in a pen with a surprising feeling of depth.

It is a large pen and weighs 33g. It’s too large for me but would suit someone with larger hands.

The nib is a steel 1.1 and its gold colour matches the tone of the pen. I do like stub nibs but this is very stiff and were it mine, I would be replacing it or getting work done on it. I have Vinta Pamana in it which is usally an ink that flows well but the pen is writing as if it contained a very dry ink such as one of the Troublemaker dual shaders. It skips occasionally as well which is quite annoying. So all in all, the stiffness, the dryness and the skipping make it very, very hard to use and it’s not enjoyable.

It retails at around €200 (I haven’t found a UK seller) and comes with a variety of nib options, including two flex nibs – a steel flex and a titanium one. The titanium nib brings it up to a whopping €275 but given how stiff the steel one was, it might be worth the upgrade!

This is a really beautiful pen but I do feel that the nib and feed really let it down. There is no excuse whatsoever for a pen at this price point to be dry, stiff and skipping. I love stub nibs and can usually write with them straight out of the box with no alteration to how I write or the speed at which I write.

Quality control is important, people! The fact it looks fantastic is not enough. Unless I suppose you have it just as a decorative accessory, to look good in your business suit pocket, but who buys pens for that? I would not buy this pen and to be honest, after the performance of this one, I’ll be avoiding all Stipula pens. At this price point, you could get a good Leonardo or Pelikan or (if you want to take your chances in quality control pot luck) a Visconti or a really nice custom pen from Brad Herrington, Dennis Humm or John Garnham. Don’t waste your money!

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